Thursday, February 5, 2009

Caring for pets with special needs does not have to be a burden. It can be a richly rewarding experience, as shown in our book Almost Perfect: Disabled Pets and the People Who Love Them. But being the "parent" of pets with physical handicaps or other challenges does require a big heart, patience, and -- sometimes -- specialized knowledge.

The love, compassion and patience are up to you, but we'd like to share a great information and support resource for those considering adding a special needs pet to their families: SpecialNeedsPets.org.

This website s dedicated to providing helpful resources to help assist you with finding information that will help you care for your disabled pet. This includes pets with physical disabilities, chronic or terminal illnesses, who are recovering from a serious injury, has emotional or behavioral problems or is elderly and requiring at-home hospice care.

There are areas on the site that deal with veterinary care and how to find the right vet, species-specific concerns, pet advocacy, holistic health care and nutrition, hospice and euthanasia. There are support sections for caregivers and pet loss, a listing of recommended books, and even support groups and forums.

The knowledge contained on this site could mean the difference in a potential adoptive family believing they couldn't cope with a disabled pet, and deciding the extra effort would be worthwhile. Give it a look!